The rumoured new Focus is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel producing 136kW of power and 380Nm of torque.

In terms of performance times, the Focus is said to accelerate to 100km/h from rest in 8.0 seconds, 0.5 seconds slower than the Golf GTD – and slower than the petrol-powered Focus ST.

According to the reports, the Focus ST diesel will share the same suspension and steering tune as the petrol version. It will inherit styling tweaks from on the facelifted Focus shown at last week’s Geneva motor show.